Strangling Weeds
by kittysophy
Summary: Sequel to Royal Violets! Violet knew what to expect when she had decided to stay in England,decided to fight. She did not sign up for being pulled between good and bad, right and wrong
1. Prologue: A year's time

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize!**

**A/N: This is the sequel to Royal Violets. This prologue is merely an introduction to people who have not read the other story (which you should probably do first). You may skip this if you already know what happened to lovely Violet to this point :)**

**Also, I'd like you to keep in mind that english is not my native language. I'm trying really hard with grammar etc, so if you see some major errors feel free to tell me.**

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A year had passed. 365 days. Exactly a year since she had been dragged out of the orphanage, out of France. Dragged to a place where a war was starting. And she had stayed, stayed because there were so many reasons holding her here. The story how she had come to be right where she was in that very moment was a miracle to herself. As if somebody had just copied it out of a novel and pasted her name in it, instead of the protagonist's one. It wasn't out of a happy novel that was for sure, more out of a drama and it did not quite have a happy ending to it either. It was a pity that in the novel wasn't a heroine, not even a hero. Only her, a clumsy, awkward looking girl with a lot of resemblance to an overgrown bat or spider, hardly a heroine. She didn't even do heroic things. She was just dragged along. By the Malfoy's first because they had thought she was the offshoot of the pure evil, Voldemort. Then, when she had nearly died meeting him, she had been dragged into the Order of the Phoenix's headquarter, only to find out that her actual father was Severus Snape. That should have been enough for a lifetime of confusion and irritation, but a tiny accident of her at Hogwarts had brought so much more out of the darkness than she had expected there was. A tiny trip had just sufficed to reveal the whole truth. A tiny trip and the wrong, or rather right things in the hands of the right boy had forced her father to tell the whole truth.

Violet sighed and looked out the window. The sky outside had turned into a faint pink, twilight was hitting soon and she was tired thinking about the year lying back from her. A year with enough trouble and sudden revelations to last for a lifetime. Being Harry Potter's older half-sister though would probably mean more trouble, seeing what he had already done in five years of school. Regardless Violet had decided to stay with him. Even it would mean that at the end it would come down to actually fight Lord Voldemort with him, she would do. She had promised him to be by his side no matter what and she took her promises pretty serious. Funnily enough Violet was hardly worried about the war. It didn't bug her at all, if she had to fight she'd fight, there would finally be a purpose in her life. What she really worried about was the fact that she was in love with the wrong person. That she didn't even care about the evil surrounding him, but was actually convinced that he suffered. Her weakness wasn't physical, not about her skills or anything like that. She could be the best dueler in the bunch of Hogwarts student's as long as she knew she'd never hurt _him_.


	2. Sugar coating

A large chocolate cake, decorated with lilies made out of sugar, stood right in front of her. Eighteen candles lit her face with their soft light, diffusing her sharp features just a tiny bit. The emerald eyes glowed with joy and surprise. "You can't be serious," Violet Deermer spluttered, pushing a strand of endlessly long hair out of her face with a trembling hand.

"We actually are not serious. You can only _look_ at the cake. Ron will devour it all by himself momentarily." Ginny Weasly said teasingly, giving her brother a rather disgusted glance. Hermione Granger, all flustered when she looked at Ron was probably the first to laugh out loud and everybody joined in. It wasn't as carefree as it should have been, but what was in troubled times?

"So, are you going to make a wish?" Ginny asked excitedly and looked intensely at Violet, who felt uncomfortable being the object of attention. If it would have been for her, nobody would have actually known that today was her birthday. She did not want anybody to make a fuss out of it. But now, as she already was in the situation she did not want to seem ungrateful. Feeling to aware of everybody watching her Violet took a deep breath, shut her eyes tight and blew out the candles. The wish she made that very moment could not have been suspected by anybody in the room. They probably were too preoccupied by wishes of their own that they made them a common wish. Peace, safety, joy, happiness, no more worries. That were they wishes and their minds were clouded by them. As much as Violet supported their wishes, she wished for something entirely else tonight. Nobody would have guessed, because nobody knew of the little fairytale going on in her mind. None of them could guess that she was disobedient princess who wanted to make a run with the Black Knight, the bad guy. It was good to be all alone in this fairy tale world, that not even the Black Knight knew he was part of it. Even though he was entirely devoted to her in her imagination, in real life the Black Knight really _was_ bad and besides he had stolen her heart, but who really cared?!

"No, Ron, Violet gets the first piece. She's the birthday girl," Mrs. Weasley scolded her youngest son.

"Really Ron, don't be such an animal about food," Hermione added, sounding slightly more lovingly than Mrs. Weasley had. As if she didn't actually mind him eating so much. It sounded more like she was fond of his appetite. Violet could feel Hermione's fondness of Ron, she had sensed it all summer long. Well, she wouldn't really call it a fondness; it was so much more than that. Violet sighed very quietly, picking on her cake. She wished she could be like Hermione, in love with someone so close by. Someone who was on the same page like her, who would fight by her side, if a battle would be coming over them. Someone who did not rip a piece out of her and then just left her without an explanation.

"Something wrong with the cake?" A familiar voice asked her ever so quietly. Violet turned her head just a few inches. Of course it would be Harry's voice, she'd be able to recall even from miles away in a noisy rainstorm. His green eyes pierced through her eyes, like he knew what she'd been thinking about. Maybe he didn't, maybe it was just hard for her to get used to having a pair of eyes, exactly shaped and colored like hers, stare at her. "It's nothing," Violet said quickly, trying to shake Harry off. "I'm just so full from dinner." That seemed good enough for an excuse, after all dinner had been very satisfying. Violet surely had gained 5 pounds over the summer thanks to Mrs. Weasley's cooking abilities.

"You could give the rest Ron," Harry suggested jokingly. "He still seems hungry." Violet chuckled a little at Harry's words and let her eyes glide over to Ron, sitting next to Hermione, who just told him to rather go in the bathroom to clean his chocolaty face than try to blindly smear the frosting around with his napkin. The gentleness in her Hermione's voice made Violet sad. Wishing once again she could be in love with somebody close to normal, she turned back to her cake again. With a little bit of furry she dug in the brown masse and shoved a huge amount into her mouth, hoping that the sayings of chocolate helping to soothe heartache would be true.

Of course they weren't true. But then again, they might apply to other heartaches. Heartaches not as severely and twisted as hers. She probably could have eaten the whole cake and it would not have helped her sleep a tiny bit through the night, just made her sick. Nights were the worst. When she finally found some peace and would fall into an uneasy slumber, the Black Knight wove in and out of her dreams. Sometimes as a really knight, sometimes just the sixteen-year old boy he really was. In her dreams he never looked like he had the night when she had last seen him. In her dreams he was smug as usual, but not in an annoying way. He was good-looking in her dreams too, of course. In her dreams were no shadows under his eyes looking like purple bruises, his skin wasn't an ashy-grey and his eyes were definitely not blood-shot. That way her dreams were not as hard as the reality, in her dreams he did not suffer from whatever he had in the rainy night when he had suddenly appeared at her room in the Leaky Cauldron.

When she woke up from her dreams, his face haunted her over and over. There was never a minute she did not think again, which was particularly bad when you had so much to think about. Falling in love was not what she had signed up for when she decided to stay in England, but then again, falling in love was something she had never intended to sign up for in her whole life.


	3. Shattered

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize!**

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The general rule is that if you are really longing to see somebody, you most likely see him everywhere or not at all. As with all rules they did not apply to Violet. No common rule applied to her.

When the whole Weasley family, Harry and her went to Diagon Alley for back-to-school shopping the unexpected happened to Violet. Of course she had secretly wished for it, but not dared to really anticipate it. So she was particularly shocked when she entered Madame Malkin's little robe shop and heard a very familiar voice.

"…_not a child, in case you haven't noticed, Mother. I am perfectly capable of doing my shopping _alone_."_ It was Draco's voice hissing those words. He sounded more strained than he ever had, but of course there was the usual sneer and arrogance hidden in his voice. Violet had the feeling she was able to hear every emotion Draco felt at this moment in those few words he had snapped at his mother. Violet spun her head around to see the reaction of Harry, Hermione and Ron, hoping she could imitate their facial expression so they wouldn't get suspicious. But before Violet had completely taken in how Harry's skin around the jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed, Draco appeared from behind a rack. And suddenly the spell was somehow broken, completely broken. He looked so handsome in the set of dark green robes he was wearing. His hair was sleek and his grey eyes looked like the ocean on a rainy day. But there was nothing in him anymore from the night she had last seen him. He wasn't the boy she had shared a stolen kiss with anymore. It wasn't like she was falling out of love with him in that second, but Violet realized that Draco had meant the kiss as a good-bye kiss. He would never open up to her anymore. In his usual strut Draco walked over to the mirror and examined himself in it for a couple of seconds. It took him a while to notice Harry's, Ron's, Hermione's and Violet's reflections in it.

"Oh, look who is here. The Weasel, his mudblood and the cuddly Potter-siblings. How adorable, are you all pretending to be a happy family?" Draco sneered, his grey eyes narrowing.

Those words did it for Violet. Just because he was Draco Malfoy he couldn't run around and treat everybody like vermin. He had done enough damage to her and her brother. He had done enough to everybody and suddenly Violet was so sick of it. She could hear blood rushing in her ears, from somewhere came voices and Harry and Ron might have drawn their wands. Violet didn't need hers, she _did not want_ hers. With a growl, coming deep from her throat, she leaped at Draco and the two of them fell into the mirror, which shattered as soon as the two of them reached the ground with it. Several racks of robes fell down too and one hit Draco directly at the forehead. Somebody was yelling and somebody else tried to pull Violet of Draco, but she freed herself of the grip. She wanted to do one thing, smash his face, hurt him as badly as he had hurt her. She punched him, once, twice right into his flawless cheekbones. Draco wriggled underneath her, trying desperately to get his wand out of his pocket and Violet was glad she didn't use magic to fight him. Physically she was absolutely superior to him. But when Violet stroke out for the third punch somebody pulled her away with so much force she couldn't resist. Panting she found herself in Ron's tight grip and while the anger ebbed away, she felt a sharp pain in her left arm. "Let go of me Ron," she whined.

"No, you'll be in even more trouble," Ron replied, gripping her arms even tighter. Violet whimpered loudly, the pain in her arm got worse.

"Ron, you idiot. I have a piece of the mirror or something stuck in my arm." Reluctantly Ron loosened the grip on Violet's arm and she was finally able to examine what had happened to it. Blood was gushing down her pale skin and a galleon sized piece of the shattered mirror stuck weirdly out of her arm. It looked repulsive, but Violet didn't hesitate to just yank it out and throw it to the ground. More blood was oozing out of the wound now, staining her clothes and the carpet red. "Damn it," Violet muttered, pressing a finger onto the wound, without any success.

"Here, I'll fix it," Hermione offered, waving her wand swiftly over the wand. The wound sealed itself immediately and all the pain was gone in an instant. Finally Violet was able to look what had happened to Draco. He wasn't on his feet again, like she was. He was still lying on a cluster of robes, a big wound on his forehead. The blood coming out of it had stained some strands of his hair red. It looked bizarre and at the same time strangely satisfying to Violet. Maybe after this she could live in peace, without the whole being-in-love-with-the-enemy thing.

While Madame Malkin moved her wand quickly to clean up the mess Violet's attack had fabricated, Narcissa kneeled down to her son, slowly stroking the uninjured side of his forehead and moving her wand over the wound, like Hermione had done before with Violet's arm. After mere seconds Draco's forehead looked as flawless as it had before. Narcissa pulled Draco up carefully and in her eyes was concern, fear, but also something very motherly Violet simply couldn't described. Narcissa had looked at _her_ like that once, the night where she had saved Violet's life, by almost setting the whole Malfoy Manor on fire. The night Narcissa had let her go off with Snape, knowing he would take her somewhere safer than what she could offer. Violet wished Narcissa would like at her like that just once more, it had felt so good that Violet still remembered it, nurturing on the warm rush of love flowing through her whenever she thought of that moment.

The two Malfoy's were about to leave, when Draco turned around to Violet. He looked straight into her eyes, there was only coldness in his, and said: "Trust me Deermer, you're going to pay for that. I'll see you at Hogwarts."

The icy coldness in his eyes and voice left Violet shivering inside the whole day. She hated herself for being so out of control and she hated him for being so irresistible. The general rule is that if you are in love with somebody, you don't try to kill him or her. The general rules never applied to Violet.

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**A/N: This is the improved version of chapter 3. I deleted chpt. 3 and 4 because I didn't like the direction I was going too. I hope you enjoy this version as much as I do :)**

**Please leave a review, it would make my day.  
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	4. Expectations

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize!**

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The dark alleys were filled with a chilly mist, unusually chilly for an August night. It should have been warmer, a nice warm summer night. Maybe it could have been even too hot, sweltry and humid. It definitely wasn't one of those summer nights. And even if it would have been a nice summer night, the ones with long barbecues and crickets chirping, Violet still wouldn't have felt comfortable. She was wandering through the streets, framed by shabby houses. Not that she minded the shabbiness of the neighborhood, she was used to poverty, there was just something sad about the houses here, as if they were crying and bleeding. But maybe that was just an interpretation she put into them.

Violet pushed her wet hair out of her face. She hated it being wet, then it was so heavy, like a thick black curtain. Her eyes narrowed when she tried to make out the numbers of the houses. It was ridiculously hard to do in the dark and the fog. On top of that every house looked the same and Violet had approximately walked in circles for half an hour. When the odors of a river filled the air, Violet finally found the house she was looking for. There was no name tag on the mailbox, why should there have been?! The person living there definitely didn't get mail. Her stomach churned a little bit when she ringed the bell. She wasn't exactly sure if she would be welcomed tonight. But then on the other hand she _had _to go somewhere. Mrs. Weasley would have loved to keep her at the Burrow, but Violet wasn't able to stand it any longer. On a whim she had decided to take her old broomstick and just leave, run away. Going to her father wasn't the first idea springing up in her head. It had just been the most reasonable; the others included too much Draco Malfoy. For a brief second Violet wondered once again if she was doing the right thing, she didn't want to hurt the Weasley's feelings; they had been so nice and welcoming. It had nothing to do at all with them. The reason she left was actually her half-brother Harry. He had been brooding only about one thing for the last couple of days, well actually one _person_. Hearing 24/7 about Draco Malfoy and his evil actions and plans was not Violet's idea of peaceful holidays. She also hoped that running away from the Burrow would clear her head, make it free to think logically. As far as now that had not happened yet.

After what felt like an eternity somebody opened the door. A very ugly, rat-like face stared at Violet in amazement.

"What do you want?" the man demanded. Violet didn't like the sassy tone in his voice. It sounded like he tried to show authority, but he just looked and sounded pitiful.

"I'm actually here to see Severus Snape," Violet replied overconfidently. She didn't have the nerve to talk to this man, not tonight, it wasn't a night were she wanted to wait for anything.

"Wormtail!" A sleek voice called from the inside. "Who is at the door?" The sharp sound of jerky steps. Violet instantly recognized the noise, more often than she liked her steps sounded the same.

"Severus it's me, Violet."

Just a second later the face of Severus Snape appeared in the gap of the open door. Greasy strands of hair hung in his face, as usual. His eyes were black and cold and the moment he saw Violet his lips twisted as if he had tasted something bitter.

"It's still _Professor Snape_, Miss Deermer. What can I do for you that late at night?" Snape's words felt like a rush of ice-cold water. Why was he acting like that? Was there any reason, danger maybe? The man, the rat-like man; could it be because of him?

Violet decided to just play along, get the man her father had called Wormtail out of the picture and then ask her father if she could stay with him.

"Hrm, I'm sorry Professor Snape, Sir, but I've got some real trouble w-with my, ehm, grades. You know, I'm not really sure which N.E.W.T. classes I'm able to take and you are the most competent teacher in these kind of situations. Could we just talk privately about it for a few minutes?" Violet's voice was shivering but she tried to camouflage it by acting as cool as possible. She pleaded silently that it would work.

"Sure Miss Deermer. But I have to remind you that I'd prefer for you to announce your visit next time. You don't want to be rude, do you?" With these words Snape opened the door widely and gestured Violet in. Her knees were a little wobbly as she walked.

Once in the house Violet recognized so many things. She had been here once before, but traveled with floo powder. Not a single thing had changed in the house. The same tiny living room filled with dozens of bookshelves. Still the same air of a lonely person living in this house.

"Wormtail, go to your room," Snape said, following Violet into the living room. His voice was as quiet as usual; he didn't need volume to emit authority. The little man called Wormtail made his way to a door and vanished. Violet could hear the sound of his steps walking up stairs.

Snape stood in front of a rickety armchair, waiting patiently for the noise of Wormtail's steps to be gone. When it was finally quiet he sat done, looking curiously and with a slight bit of anger in his face at Violet. "Why don't you take a seat?" he suggested, waving his hand to the old sofa Violet was closest too. Uncertain Violet sat down. She still didn't know what to think of her father's behavior.

"What's the matter Violet? What in the world are you doing here?"

The sound of her father's voice made Violet feel ashamed. He was right, what _was_ she doing here? He had told her at the end of the term that she needed to stay away from him, just for the summer. That it wasn't safe to come see him. She knew that and it had been a stupid, childish instinct to come here tonight. She had been upset and sad, so the only person she wanted to be with was her father. Violet took a deep breath. Now that she was already here she might as well tell her father that she didn't want to be at the Burrow anymore.

"I kind of ran away from the Burrow and now I need a place to stay." Violet admitted, not looking into her father's eyes.

"I can't have you here and you _know_ that."

"I know," Violet replied, her voice getting more confident with every word she spoke. "I just had no other choice, Severus. Harry was getting on my nerves majorly."

A smile twisted around Snape's lips when he heard those words. "Yes, he has more of father than is good for him. Violet, I understand that you don't want to stay with Weasley and Potter, but you could have found another place to go."

"Where? Where could I have gone?" Violet was angry now. For her father everything seemed so easy. _Just go somewhere else, as long as you don't bother me_.

"The Leaky Cauldron?! In fact I'll have you floo there right this instant."

"What if I don't want to go there?" Violet asked. Her stomach churned just by the mere memory of the room she had kissed Draco Malfoy in.

"Well, it's your only choice. Term will be starting soon. You _will_ go there, now!" Snape was determined. He pointed his wand to the hall and Violet's luggage hovered in the room, landing right next to the fireplace. With another flick of his wand flames blazed up in there.

"Go. Now." Snape commanded not leaving room for discussion. Violet glared at him, her green eyes full of anger. She didn't know that moment how much it hurt Snape to see those green eyes, having exactly the same shape and color as her mother's, so angry. It made all the bad memories reappear. All the memories he tried to suppress so badly.

Violet stepped in front of the fireplace, throwing some floo powder into the fire. It turned as green as her eyes were. She didn't say good-bye before stepping into the fire. There was no reason.

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**I'm sorry that it took me sooo long to come up with a new chapter. I have been very busy the last couple of days. I hope you enjoy this chapter :) Leave me a comment how you like it.**


	5. Rescue and Suicide

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He was determined. He never had been so secure in his life, so sure of himself and the actions he was doing. His head wasn't clouded from any emotions. While he fastened the clasps on his traveling cloak everything in his mind became suddenly very sharp and clear, as if a veil had been lifted. No more emotions and feelings to cloud any thought of his. The path had always been laid out in front of him and he'd walked along as he was told to. But now, tonight, he had decided to walk without someone holding his hand, guiding him.

He wasn't Dumbledore's puppet anymore. No, now he acted on his own, even though it would all still be how Dumbledore wished it to be. It wouldn't make a difference over all, just to himself. He was driven by something, so much stronger than the love he had have for Lily had been. Violet was in danger now and he would rather _die_ than have her hurt.

Before he spun around on his heels to apparate, he looked into the long mirror hanging in the hallway. He stared into his own dark eyes; he had never seen himself more clearly. He did really look like the _bad guy_. Like Lily had once told him: _"I can't be with you Sev- erus. You became evil. It's like you are the bad guy in this twisted fairy-tale."_

"I won't be the bad guy anymore. I'll be a hero, Lily, from now on. For you, for me, for us," he said to himself. It was the only thing left he could do for Lily.

"You know that the Dark Lord doesn't need liars, betrayers! You know that Snape!" A hissing voice said, low but creeping through the whole mansion, through every cell of Snape's body.

"My Lord knows that I would never…" Snape tried to defend himself, but Voldemort cut him off.

"I don't want to hear excuses. Tell me what she was doing at _your_ house."

Snape closed his eyes, his mind. Concentrating hard on shutting it off completely. It was crucial that Voldemort wouldn't be able to look into his mind right now. "I thought she could be useful," Snape suggested, his voice strong and confident, so different from the feelings inside of him, which were weak and insecure.

"Useful?"

"Yes, my Lord don't you see the potential," Snape tried hard to give his voice an enthusiastic edge, it was hard work. "After all she is Harry Potter's sister. What if we get her to spy for us, find out his weaknesses. Find out everything he's up to, the order and Dumbledore are up to."

"I thought _you_ were the spy, Snape."

"Having her also would be even better, my Lord, just consider it. All the insider information you could get."

"It is a very appealing thought," Voldemort mused, stroking Nagini's head absentmindedly with one his chalk-white, long fingers. "She does have a lot of potential. She is young, it would be easy to convince and convert her. And _that_ will be your task Snape."

"Yes my Lord," Snape replied obediently, trying to suppress the urge to vomit right onto Voldemort's feet.

"Get her onto our side Snape, no matter what it takes."

Snape nodded silently. It felt to him like his body had just been detached from his brain and soul. What was he about to do? It didn't turn out to be a rescue mission, but more of a suicide attack.

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**A/N: I'm sorry for not updating that much over the last couple of weeks. I have been terribly busy and almost forgot how much I love to write on my fics. I hope you enjoyed this rather short chapter and I promise that I'll update more frequently from now on. Please leave a little review to make my day :)**


	6. Tight Spot

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Nothing could have been more awkward than this particular morning. Well, awkward wasn't exactly the right word to describe what lay ahead of Violet. Running away from the Burrow certainly had a lot of consequences to be dealt with. Violet wasn't sure if she was in the mood to deal with them when she woke up on the first September morning. She had just had another night, filled with nightmares, all of them including her father and brother dying by the hands of Draco Malfoy. Those dreams were excruciating painful, they really ached. When she woke up after one of those dreams her body was in pain. She felt the pain when she woke up this dreaded September morning and it made her want to hide in the fairly clean sheets of the bed in her room at the Leaky Cauldron. There was so much she could avoid by just not going back to Hogwarts. She would be able to avoid Draco. She didn't need to find an explanation for her disappearance from the Burrow. She wouldn't have to see the emptiness in her father's eyes when he looked at her, treating her like she was just any student, nothing special. All of this was enough to keep her in bed.

But just when Violet closed her eyes peacefully images of Hogwarts on a bright, crisp autumn day washed over her. Voices of Ron and Hermione arguing jingled in her head. The memory of the scrumptious smells of the start-of-term feast made her mouth water. She could almost feel the soft, clean sheets of her bed in Ravenclaw tower. Something fluttered in her stomach and she knew there was no escaping Hogwarts. She wouldn't be able to; it had become a home for her. A place where she had finally found what she had always dreamt of.

Abruptly Violet threw the sheets of her and jumped out of the bed. The alarm clock next to her didn't have good news, the Hogwarts' Express had left one minute ago. "Damn it," Violet cursed under her breath, while yanking one of her school robes out of her suitcase. Frantically she thought of a Plan B. The first ideas coming to her mind, flooing and flying, were tossed pretty quickly. It seeped into her mind that she would need to apparate. By the mere thought of it, goose bumps covered her arms. She loathed apparating. She wasn't good in it and hated the sensation of being pressed through a tight tube. It always made her sick to the stomach. As there was no other choice though, Violet decided to be courageous today and just do it. How bad could it be?

With a deep breath she grabbed her huge suitcase, turned on the spot and tried to focus very hard on Hogwarts. She imagined the huge castle, bathed in the soft autumn sun, the surface of the lake glistening and a soft breeze rustling through the red tinted leaves of the trees. But the lovely image couldn't suppress the horrible tight feeling Violet suddenly felt. It was hard to breath, so very hard and the suitcase was way too big and heavy. And then there was this other pain, right in her chest, as if somebody had ripped out a huge piece of flesh of her body. She knew exactly what had happened, she was splintering. The knowledge made her even more panicky. It were the most horrible seconds in her life.

The fresh air filled her lungs so all of a sudden that it pained. But at least Violet could feel the ground beneath her. Her hands automatically reached up to her chest. It was warm and wet; Violet knew she was bleeding badly. Mind racing, Violet searched frantically for her wand. It must have fallen out of her hands while apparating. Moving her hands was hard, turning her head was even harder and more painful. The sun was not so bright anymore, it blurred out around the edges. And then everything went black.

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**I really hope you liked this chapter. As you may have noticed it takes me a long time to update this story. I am really sorry about that and trying to update more frequently. Please leave a little review to tell me what you think about the story so far. **

**I want to thank all my loyal readers,you are my source of inspiration :)  
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	7. Stranger in the Night

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She must have gone to heaven. There was just no other way. Why else would the pain be gone? Why else would she lie on something feeling like a huge fluffy cloud? Why else would the lights be so bright? And why else would she see Draco Malfoy's face in front of her, his expression almost angelic. She must have died and gone to heaven. Everything else would be too painful. Reality would be too painful. But through the wonderful bliss she was in, voices slipped through. They words they said trickled slowly into her brain, began to form sentences, sentences that somehow made sense.

There was a harsh voice, low though and utterly familiar, asking: "Why wasn't she on the train. She was supposed to be on the train!" That made sense to Violet, she _was_ supposed to be on the train. Only nobody knew of her misery, nobody knew how hard it would have been for her to go back to Hogwarts.

"I'm sure there is an explanation for that. Please calm down Severus, she will be fine," a much gentler voice said, a very soothing voice.

"She could have died, Dumbledore."

"Well, she isn't going to die, so be quiet now Severus, you are going to wake her up," a female voice said with a slight hint of anger in her voice. But Violet was awake, she wanted to know what had happened.

Slowly she opened up her eyes. The sun shining through the windows had already put on its bright red evening gown. It shone softly on Dumbledore, coloring his beard and hair pink. Next to him stood Snape, grouchy looking as ever. He was too far away for Violet to see the worries in his eyes. Without thinking Violet touched her chest, only to make sure she was fine. Her cold hands touched perfectly smooth skin and Violet let out a sigh of relief. "Dad," she croaked. "I'm fine."

Snape was next to her so suddenly that it made her head spin a little bit. Why was he moving so fast? "What were you thinking, Violet?" Snape asked her accusingly, but there was so much relief in his voice that he sounded almost vulnerable.

"I missed the train," Violet lied, well, she half-lied. "And somehow I needed to go to Hogwarts, right?" She forced herself to a smile, wanting to take the strain of her father's face.

Snape shook his head slowly, some greasy strands of hair falling into his face. "You definitely got the determinedness and recklessness from your mother," he said very quietly, only so Violet could hear him. His eyes were shining, as if they were wet, but it was hard for Violet to imagine that her father would start crying in front of Dumbledore. It would be just too bizarre. I guess I do," Violet whispered back, placing a hand on her father's cheek. She felt like crying now too, it was one of the most intimate moments she had ever shared with her father and suddenly she became so aware of how close they were to each other, not physically but emotionally, that her heart felt like it weighed ten pounds, her heartbeats felt so strong and loud that she swore Hagrid down in his hut could hear them. She flushed and quickly pulled her hand back from Snape's cheek. She needed to break this moment now or she'd say something utterly stupid, pouring her heart out, she couldn't do that. "I guess I need some more sleep now," Violet said, trying to appear weak and tired. She had never been a good actor.

"That's exactly what she needs," Madame Pomfrey agreed.

"Get well," Dumbledore said softly and left. Snape followed him reluctantly, still looking like he had seen her dead.

Violet drifted quickly into an uneasy sleep. She dreamed about a battle, thousands of white-skinned people tried to attack Hogwarts, penetrating the walls with curses. Then Snape stepped out of the big oak front doors, holding a dead body in his arms. It was a girl with long black hair and sallow skin. One of the curses coming from the pale people hit him immediately and he fell lifeless down onto the ground. The dead body of the girl came to life though once Snape was dead. She just stood up, her green eyes blazing with anger and killed all the white-skinned people.

When Violet woke up she was covered in cold sweat. A thin stream of moonlight shone through the curtains. It took her a couple of seconds to realize that she was in the hospital wing, safe and sound, and that there weren't creepy people out there attacking Hogwarts, not yet. But after she had realized that she heard the low sound of someone breathing. There was _someone_ here. A figure standing at the bottom of her bed. Violet got up as quickly as possible, but when she had set her feet out of the bed the figure disappeared.

The next morning Violet couldn't tell if she had dreamt it or not.

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**I hope you liked this chapter, please let me know and leave me a review :)**


	8. Pain

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The crackling of the fire went quieter and calmer as it got later and later. Violet was the only one left in the Ravenclaw common room. She sat in one of the blue chairs, staring into nothingness and stroke her chest unconsciously. The warm light of the fire tinted her pale skin a beautiful warm color, softened her features. Still it couldn't conceal the strain in her face, the tensed cheekbones, the crease between forehead and her nose.

The events of the first week of school had been draining and throughout every painful second she had spent in contact with other people, she had been wishing for a dark hole to hide in. There had been different kind of painful situation.

First there was the normal staring, she was used to that, the "Oh-my-gosh-this-is-Harry-Potter's-sister" staring. It was alright, she didn't mind anymore. It had gotten worse though since the Daily Prophet had spread all the _Chosen One_ rumors. It was close to getting ridiculous, the students stared at her like she was chosen to kill Lord Voldemort with her brother together. Violet didn't know what irritated her more about that, the fact that it was plain silly to think that anyone would just kill Voldemort off in a snap or the sad reality that she wasn't as close to Harry as some people were thinking. Truth was that Hermione and Ron had a much closer relationship to him than she had. A much more devastating truth was that she didn't have the same blood running through her veins than Harry did. Sure, they shared the same mother, but they had completely opposite fathers. Polar opposites. From all Violet had heard James Potter had been a glorious hero, good and noble, brave and friendly. Even though Violet loved Snape as her father she couldn't deny that there were few glorious adjectives to describe him. He definitely wasn't the hero.

The second painful situations were the pity stares. Word had spread like a fire that Violet had splintered herself badly in an attempt to make it to Hogwarts in time. Even the teachers asked her in a low voice as if she was lying on a deathbed if everything had healed alright. Those conversations always made Violet wanting to scream, but she swallowed the anger every time and replied in a stiff way. The way her father often spoke.

It had been very painful to talk to Harry, Ron and Hermione again. She had made her first attempt after breakfast on the first day of classes. It had honestly been a feeble attempt. Violet had paced over very slowly to Gryffindor table, asking with a scratchy voice which classes the three of them were taking. An awkward silence had lingered between them for several seconds. Harry had stared at her like she was a zombie or something equally fascinating and scary at the same time. Hermione's eyes had been full of compassion and understanding, but somehow she remained silent as if it wasn't the right place and time to talk. Ron had looked at her like he sometimes looked at Professor Mc Gonogall when she was explaining a particularly difficult spell. All three of them were dumbstruck and Violet had left without an answer. Later in the day though Violet had met Hermione in the library and the two girls had gotten the chance to talk. Violet had explained very cryptically what she had been doing and why she had left so suddenly from the Burrow. "You probably should write an apology letter to the Weasley's," Hermione had suggested and that was all she had said about that. Violet liked that part about Hermione, she seemed to know when to just listen, nod and understand. Ultimately Violet had sorted things out with the three of them and that put her at an ease. She had enough trouble already without being on a no-speak basis with the only friends she had.

It was the most excruciating thing though to see Draco Malfoy again. He was his usual smug self again, strutting around school like he owned it and constantly followed by Pansy Parkinson, a girl with hard edges and short black hair. Every time Violet caught sight of Draco's blond hair her legs went numb and her heart hammered at a speed that no human heart should be able to reach. It was impossible to deny that she was indefinitely and irrevocably in love with him, despite all of what he had said and done. When she saw everything else faded in the background, got blurry. Only he was sharp and defined then. It wasn't normal, but then again Violet never did normal.

Staring into the dark of the night Violet realized something. Physical pain was nothing compared to emotional pain; loss, fear, rejected love.

And, after a while, she also realized that she wasn't the only one who knew this. Voldemort's power did not consist of the physical pain he could do to people. And somehow it struck Violet that exactly this was his weakest point. Every strength just conceals a weakness. If someone knew what Voldemort clung to, what his biggest fear was, he could be destroyed so easily. The fire died slowly, silently and the common room was swallowed by the darkness.

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	9. True you

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Everything was so quiet. No sound at all. Not even the noises of nocturnal animals made this night restful. It was almost ironically how very peaceful this night was, when people all over the country were tortured and killed. How was it possible that nothing was stirring, while so many people were screaming and writhing in pain, begging for their life or the lives of their family, their little children? Horrible scenes formed in Violet's mind. Even though she was sitting on the damp grass, watching over the dark surface of the lake, it felt like her knees were touching the cold marble floor, her eyes were wandering over the snow-white skin of the most repulsive, sick person she had ever met. It was hard to shake those images off and sometimes Violet felt the urge to talk to someone about it. Maybe to Harry, because he had gone through similar pain. But then Violet was too insecure to ask him about it, it seemed so personally. It would be like seeing him naked, just emotionally.

Violet took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the chilly autumn air. Nothing compared to breathing in the night air, it made her feel more alive than anything else would. Her hands glided over the dewy grass. She had done that so often, sitting outside in the dark. She had already done it when she was still living in the orphanage, mainly because she wanted to escape the horrible stuffiness of the bedroom she shared with 9 other girls, who rarely washed their hair, let alone their bodies. Later she had done it in Beauxbatons, sneaking out of the dormitory. At first just because she had wanted to enjoy the beautiful gardens all by herself. Later, when she was alone anyway all the time, the night had sort of become her companion. It had become a habit to sneak out every second night, even just for a couple of minutes. In Beauxbatons at night she could hear the nymphets sing. There were a couple hidden in the rose bushes, sleeping in the day in cobwebs. A handful lived in the ponds, splashing very quietly and artistically with the water so the splashing sounded like music. Over a dozen lived in a little grove, those wood nymphets were the sneakiest of them all. They came out of the cover of the trees at night and ate straw-, rasp-, and blueberries out of the garden the first years cultivated in their Herbology classes. Violet had loved watching them. They were cheerful little things and so different from every magical being muggles imagined living in the woods. They didn't look like fairies or pixies. Even though their bodies were slender and they were tiny. They didn't have any wings and their skin color always matched the surroundings they lived in. They were able to talk, but only communicated with high humming noises, sounding like bees. If Violet would ever be able to go back to France she would spend nights and nights to watch those little creatures. They were the only thing she missed here at Hogwarts. Nymphets wouldn't live in something as dark and dangerous as the Forbidden Forest.

Suddenly the night changed. There were noises, a rustling of a cloak, followed by a soft voice: "Good evening, Violet." A tall figure appeared out of the darkness. His beard and hair were tinted a strange, silvery blue by the moonlight. In an instant Violet knew who it was and her heartbeat went a rate lower. "Professor Dumbledore, I apologize for being out of bed, but," Dumbledore interrupted Violet's feeble attempt at apologizing by holding a hand up. He probably knew that she wasn't sorry at all for breaking a silly school rule.

"The night is unusually quiet, don't you think Violet? You don't mind if I call you Violet do you?" Dumbledore sat down on the grass right beside her. His hands covered now by the long sleeves of his plum robes. Silently Violet shook her head, wondering frantically what Dumbledore would want to talk about or why he even sat down beside her.

"I was wondering something," Dumbledore went on, his eyes wandering over the lake and then suddenly darting back to Violet. "I wondered if you are in the right house."

This surprised Violet. Did it really matter which house she was in? After all that had happened? Even though she knew it was completely rude to doubt her headmaster she asked. "Sir, is it really that important?"

Dumbledore let out a chuckle and that startled Violet. This man was surely hard to understand. A genius, no doubt, but probably completely insane.

"You are really clever Violet. Runs in the family I guess," he winked at her. "I suppose it doesn't really matter to anyone which house you are in, except for you."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Violet asked confused.

"I mean that I can feel that you have a strong urge to find out who you truly are."

Violet shook her head, looking down to the ground. "No, Sir, I don't. I have to disappoint you. I know who I am and I know who I am not. It doesn't matter which house I am in, I'll always stay the same."

"That's interesting Violet. Well, if you know who you are then why don't you tell me?"

"I am nothing special. I have always been an outcast and will never fit in anywhere. I'm socially completely incompetent. I'm not brave enough to save others in troubled times," Violet broke off suddenly, her mind wandering to Draco. It was true; she wasn't brave enough to save him from the darkness catching him.

"You sound exactly like your father," Dumbledore ascertained. "But I've never met anyone so extraordinary like him. He is a brave man, able to love with his whole heart, unconditionally. He is clever, a perfectionist. He has just been scared by life. That doesn't make him a bad guy. You are so much like him. And so much more like your mother. And I don't mean the green eyes my dear." Dumbledore went quiet and after a couple of seconds of silence he started humming a tune. It sounded like the nymphets Violet had listened to so many times.

"Then what do I have from my mother, tell me," Violet demanded fiercely, completely forgetting her manners.

Dumbledore chuckled once more. "More than you think," he began. "You are smart; well I guess you had good genes for that on both sides. You are compassionate and emotional. You have a good sense of justice. You are good to the chore, nothing dark could lure you in. Funny how you got all the character trades from Lily that your brother also inherited from her."

At the end of Dumbledore's words tears welled up in Violet's eyes. Never before had she so strongly felt that she was actually someone special, someone loveable.

"Why don't you come up in my office with me and we'll ask the Sorting Hat which house you should be in," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in the moonlight. Violet swallowed her tears and followed the whooshing of the plum robe.

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**I'm sorry that it took me sooo long to come up with a new chapter. I have been very busy the last couple of days. I hope you enjoy this chapter :) Leave me a comment how you like it.**


	10. Where you belong

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize!**

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At any other occasion Dumbledore's office would have been mouth-gapping for Violet to see. The circular room was filled with interesting, fascinating things. It puffed and hummed from several places. The one thing though that caught Violet's attention regardless of her anxiety, was the big gold and red feathered bird. Violet had only seen those in books and now she couldn't believe her eyes, an actual phoenix was sitting there in Dumbledore's office. And suddenly it all made sense, the Order of the Phoenix and why Narcissa had chosen to send a phoenix flame through her house to scare the Death Eaters, well to death. Violet took a small step closer to the Phoenix. She had read a lot about them, everything etched into her brain, how they were among the smartest animals, incredibly strong, how their tears could heal about every wound. But she also knew how shy they were and so very rare.

"Sir," Violet said in a low voice, not wanting to scare the beautiful bird. "Is that an actual phoenix?"

"Yes," Dumbledore answered, his voice filled with proud. He walked over to the phoenix and stroked its head. "His name is Fawkes."

"But how," Violet asked, her eyes darting confused from Dumbledore to the phoenix. She could never have imagined that a human could actually have a phoenix as a pet.

"Well, it surely is a question of respect. Fawkes is not my pet you see, he is my dear friend."

"You truly are a great wizard, Sir," Violet said astonished.

Dumbledore chuckled; it was amazing at how cheerful this man was. "How about you put on the hat now, Violet?" He asked, a little more serious now.

"Alright," Violet replied, taking a deep breath. It was awkward how she could have cared less all the time which house she was in, as long as it wasn't Slytherin, and now she was anxious, but still eager to know what the hat would decide.

Dumbledore had already taken it off from one of the many shelves. It was old and battered. Trembling just a little bit Violet took a seat on one of the chairs next to Dumbledore's desk and waited for the moment the hat touched her hair.

"Ah, another interesting one," a voice suddenly said. Violet had to hold back a scream escaping from her throat. Even though she had been a witch for a long time, magic sometimes still freaked her out. "Had not had such an interesting combination in six years. But of course, you _are_ Harry Potter's half-sister. That's going to be a tough one, dear. Slytherin would be a choice for you, no doubt. But I think you would reach greater heights by being in Gryffindor. Yes, that's my final choice, _Gryffindor it is!_"

When the hat fell silent Violet was finally able to breathe again and control her heartbeat. With shaking hands she took the hat off and looked right into Dumbledore's bright blue eyes. "So?" he asked curiously.

"I'm in Gryffindor," Violet replied excitedly, more to herself than to Dumbledore.

"Well, then I suggest you go straight up to your dormitory." Dumbledore flicked his wand. "There will be a bed and all your things waiting for you up there."

With a beaming smile Violet left Dumbledore's office, walking shakily up the stairs. She knew her destiny now and nothing could have felt better.

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**A/N: This chapter turned out rather short. But I just wanted to get to the point and reveal which house Violet belongs to. I guess for most of you it won't be a surprise xD**

** Today or tomorrow I'm going to upload the next chapter which will be set at Christmas...There sure will be a mistletoe involved ;)  
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	11. Love is Pain

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"You are sure you don't want to come?"

"For the one millionth and second time: NO! I just want to spend Christmas here. I heard so many amazing things about it."

"Christmas at the Weasley's is amazing too you know."

"Harry James Potter," Violet said, imitating her father's voice. "Do I need to write it down for you that I want to spend Christmas here at Hogwarts?!"

Next to Harry Ron burst out in laughter. "I love it when you imitate Snape, Violet. You sound exactly like him." Violet chuckled at Ron's booming laughter. Even Hermione, sitting several tables away couldn't help herself but smile a little. Harry on the other hand stayed serious. "I mean it Violet. I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay here by yourself. Everyone is driving home for Christmas."

Violet didn't bother to answer. She didn't want to sound like a broken record. Shaking her head slightly she turned to her Defense against the Dark Arts paper on Inferi. The classes here at Hogwarts were honestly a piece of cake for her. Well, she had done all this stuff already, to tell the truth. Sometimes though she seemed to forget that she was two years older than the rest of her classmates.

"Don't bug her about it anymore, Harry," Ron said, flipping the pages of a book without really looking for anything in particular. "I need her to fully concentrate on her paper so _I_ can copy some of it. Snape is really scaring the heck out of me with his homework." Violet smiled at this but didn't bother to really say anything. She could feel Hermione boring daggers into Ron's back now. She probably wished to be the one again he was copying his homework from. But she was persistent in ignoring him ever since he was going out with this noisy and awfully girly acting Lavender Brown. Sometimes Violet envied Hermione. At least she was in love with somebody who was theoretically in her reach. Someone good, who would fight by her side when it came down to a battle. Suddenly an image crept up involuntarily into her mind. It was an image of Draco and her, fighting two Death Eaters. In Violet's mind Draco was glowing, because his soul was so eternally good. That was definitely wishful thinking.

"I'm calling it a night," Harry said, interrupting Violet's blissful thoughts. He picked up his books and parchments. It was only when Violet heard a screeching voice, calling out "Won-Won" that she understood why Harry was so abruptly leaving. Lavender was one of those girls Violet despised. Not that she connected very well with people at all, but those girly-girls, which did not have much personality, really did want to make her puke. So she also packed her things up and went up the stairs. Before she even reached the girl's dormitory's door, she heard hasty footsteps following up right behind her. It was, of course, Hermione who probably also wanted to escape the _happy couple_.

The two girls stood at the sink, washing their faces, when Hermione suddenly began talking. Her voice almost cracking, she asked: "What do you think he likes about her?"

Violet, startled by the question, answered with the first thought coming to her mind. "Who knows, boys are strange. They always have been."

Thoughtfully Hermione washed the soap of her face with a washcloth. "She is so obnoxious. He took her only because he wanted someone to snog."

"So let him snog her. I know it must hurt badly now, but you'll see, he'll come around and realize that he is actually in love with _you_." It was a strange sensation for Violet to give advices. There were so many new things she had experienced in having friends.

"It's not easy though," Hermione's voice was filled with tears now. She was putting toothpaste on her toothbrush now and her hands were shaking violently.

Violet shook her head. "It could be a lot harder," she said with a sigh. Draco's face filled her mind immediately. His grey eyes filled with love and joy, rather than smugness as they usually did.

Hermione's head snapped up at Violet's words. She wasn't one to miss certain undertones. "Who?" She simply asked.

"Doesn't matter."

"How bad can it be?" Hermione asked.

Violet bit her lips, torn between keeping her secret and finally confiding into somebody. It would be such a relief to have somebody know her misery. "Like Draco Malfoy," Violet said, slightly joking. She was keeping a secret backdoor out of this, if Hermione would react shocked.

"No," Hermione's eyes fell open and she goggled at Violet with round eyes.

Violet let out a low, false chuckle and grabbed her hairbrush. "It's not that bad," she lied.

"Oh, gee…I thought you really meant it," Hermione exhaled relieved, just now starting to brush her teeth.

Violet stared at herself in the mirror, hoping nobody besides her would notice the moisture in her eyes. Violently she raked the brush through her hair. Maybe the physical pain would somehow cease the emotional one.

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** I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) Leave me a comment how you like it.**


	12. Sparkling Heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize!**

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A bright light was creeping into the dark room through every little hole and edge possible. Through the cracks of the heavy, red and gold curtains. Through the tiny spaces between door and floorboard. It was the kind of light only existing on a snowy winter day. Not sunlight, not as brilliant and warm, but bright, reflected by so much snow. It woke Violet up softly.

When she opened up the curtains, the first thing she loved to do in the morning, the window outside were covered in a frosted pattern, like tiny delicate flowers spreading over the cold glass. Thick icicles hung from the roof and ended right above the edge of the window. They glittered a little bit in the light. Watching this Winter Wonderland, Violet suddenly remembered that she was all by herself in the dormitory and that it was Christmas morning. She didn't anticipate anything special to happen. At the very least she had considered that it would be possible that she'd get any presents at all. But there they were, at the foot of her bed, a tiny, neat stack of wrapped presents. Most of them had the shape of books and somehow that made Violet happy and sad at the same time. Happy, because she loved books above all things else in the world. Sad, because probably none of her friends had made an effort to think of another present. If she would really get just books it was her fault after all. She wasn't exactly an open book when it came to her preferences in presents. Maybe that was because she hardly ever got presents.

Sighing, Violet took the first parcel into her hands. It was wrapped in pretty red paper. A card, tied to the gold ribbon, said it was from Hermione. This was most definitely a book. Hermione wouldn't give her anything else. Violet unwrapped the present slowly. A thick, leather-bound book was hidden behind the paper. It was heavy and Violet tried to make out the title. It seemed to be some sort of encyclopedia. Curiously Violet opened the book and found to her surprise that scattered on every page were annotations in Hermione's neat handwriting. The book was about the most useful, defensive spells and Violet smiled upon Hermione's eagerness to comment on every spell. This was much better than just a book. It was a book that screamed friendship.

The next parcel was from Ron, well more precisely the Weasley's. It contained a thick wool sweater and Violet had to love about the color, it was violet. There was also a whole box of homemade cookies. They smelled so good that Violet could hardly contain herself from eating one.

The next parcel was clearly a book too. It was from Harry and Violet wondered if he would have followed Hermione's idea and write something inside a spellbook. But the book she got from Harry was far away from what Violet had expected it to be. It was a photo album. With shaking hands Violet opened it up, not sure which pictures would be in it. The first was the picture of their mother. Lily was young, beaming, in her wedding gown, standing all by herself under a beech tree. The flowers in her bouquet were pink roses and Violet smiled about that. Everyone would probably have expected her mother to have lilies in her wedding bouquet, but she didn't. Violet would have done the same if she had been in her mother's shoes. The next picture showed Harry, Ron and Hermione. The three of them were very young, beaming into the camera proudly. A note under the picture said it had been on the last day of their first school years in Hogwarts. It went on with pictures of Hogwarts and Harry, Ron and Hermione. There were several that made Violet laugh, like the one where Ron posed with something that was named "Blast-Ended Skrewt" in the note underneath the picture. Ron made a silly face at the lobster-like creature. After she had skipped through all the pictures Violet felt a little more part of the trio. But she also regretted not having been dragged to Hogwarts earlier. It sure looked like they had a lot of fun throughout the years, even though a shadow was overcastting them since their first year.

The sudden wish made Violet wonder how it would have been, if she had been standing in line with all the other first years, two years before Harry had been going to school. She imagined how it would have felt like to get up to the stool and have the hat put upon her head, knowing her father was bursting with proud at the teacher's table. Would he have been proud or disappointed if the hat had sorted her into Gryffindor? And without the knowledge about her mother, without the awareness of the Gryffindor blood pulsing through her veins would she even have been sorted into this house? Or would the Sorting Hat have decided upon some other destination for her instead, because of her character trades? Would she have become a true Slytherin at heart maybe? Getting lulled into false beliefs of blood pureness? All these questions made Violet's head spin and she quickly grabbed the next parcel, to keep her mind of the things that could have happened. This present was wrapped in dark blue paper, midnight blue, almost black. Just the paper could have told Violet that this was from her father. It turned out to be a book. One about Legemency and Occlumency. Violet had heard about that branch of magic. Only those who were strong willed and skilled could mingle with the mind of others and protect their ones. Violet wondered if this present was a hidden hint from her father. Maybe he found it useful if Violet considered shielding her mind from unwanted intruders. There was also a card, wishing her a Merry Christmas and an invitation to have tea with him this afternoon. Violet looked forward to that. It was the best present he could have given her, spending alone time with him.

The last parcel was wrapped with very elegant silver paper and tied up with a purple, silk ribbon. It was smaller than all the others, square though, and made Violet wonder who it could be from and what could be inside. The less patient part of her wanted to rip the paper of, but Violet refrained herself and unwrapped it very carefully, trying to get the purple bow of whole, it was so pretty. The present turned out to be a black box, one which was usually meant for jewelry. Violet's hand shook as she opened the lid of the box carefully, not knowing what to expect. Who in the world would give her jewelry? On a bed of black velvet lay an exquisite silver necklace. The chain was quite delicate, very thin and elegant. On it hung the most beautiful pendant Violet had ever seen. It was a heart, silver like the chain, but embedded with tiny diamonds, so that it glistened and glittered. Violet was speechless and then a sudden thought struck her. What if this necklace was from the one person she desperately wanted to have gotten it from? What if Draco had sent her the necklace? For Violet there was no other possibility, it must have been Draco. Who else would cover their identity by not sending a card? Who else did she know who was so rich that he would be able to afford such a necklace?

With trembling fingers Violet put the necklace on, hurrying of to the bathroom in order to look into a mirror. There she was, standing in her pajamas, the diamond heart sending out sparks in every direction.

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**I hope you liked this chapter, please let me know and leave me a review :)**


	13. A Winternight's Dream come true

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The Great Hall was filled with glitter and tinsel and Christmas cheer. Violet did not feel like it. Even though she had something to look forward too, Occlumency lessons with her father, she did not feel like celebrating everything. She missed Harry and Hermione, heck she even missed Ron. Instead she was stuck here in Hogwarts and knew already what would be coming onto her. Well, she deserved it. She had purposely stayed exactly for this evening. She had stayed because she _knew_ Draco would be staying too. But now as she stood at the entrance of the Great Hall and everything was shiny and gold and festive her knees went weak and shook uncontrollably. Just now she felt silly in her purple dress robes. They had been a present from Narcissa, way back when she was still somewhat important to the Malfoys. As pretty as they had been on the hanger, they felt all wrong on her now. The silk was far too exquisite for such an ordinary girl like her. And she was sure that her awkward posture would ruin the appearance of the robes. They needed a graceful girl in them, one that was able to hold her back straight.

What if Draco would see her and laugh at her? Show his evil smirk, so self-satisfied and smug? Her heart was beating ten times faster as usual. She could almost feel it jumping in her chest, as if it wanted to break out of there, set itself free.

She had escaped before dessert. It was snowing outside, thick, white, fluffy flakes swirling through the night sky, getting caught in her hair and eyelashes. The cold air stung in her lungs but everytime she breathed in it made her feel so alive, so far away from the uncomfortable heat she had felt during dinner. All was quiet on the grounds, peaceful almost.

When Violet looked up to the castle, covered in a delicate blanket of white frost, she suddenly realized how much she belonged here. More than any other place in the world she belonged here. And as sudden as the feeling of belonging to exactly this place came, another one followed so instantly that Violet knew one could not be without the other. She realized that even though she had found a home in Hogwarts it was a very vulnerable one, breakable. She wouldn't be able to stay forever, it was just another stop along the way that was her life, how so many places had been. The only difference was that she really wanted Hogwarts to be the last stop, staying here and not moving anymore. Violet sighed as she realized that and turned away from the castle, looking at the frozen lake, wondering what the giant squid was doing in its deep waters. Probably hibernating, but she couldn't be sure.

The peaceful moment was suddenly interrupted by the crunching sound snow made when it was stepped on. Violet didn't bother to see who was approaching her, probably her father or maybe Dumbledore, wanting to know why she had left dinner early. She didn't feel like coming up with excuses and hoped to skip that conversation.

But as the person came closer, he or she did not say a word. Just breathed rather heavily. And then a gloved hand clamped over her eyes and Violet screamed involuntarily.

"Missed you at dessert," a very familiar, almost snotty, voice snickered right into her ear. The skin where his warm breath had reached tingled as it warmed up for a few seconds.

"It's not funny Malfoy. Get lost," Violet tried to say those words nonchalantly, as if she didn't care, but they came out in a helpless squeak.

"Oh well, if that's not your kind of humor, Snape," Draco replied, lifting his hand off her eyes. He stood close to her now, close enough for her to smell his expensive perfume.

"What did you call me?" Violet inquired.

"Snape? Isn't that your name? I'm sorry if I'm making wrong assumptions here, but as Professor Snape is your father I assumed you…"

"Oh shut up Malfoy," Violet interrupted him, slowly getting the right mix of coolness and utter disinterest in her voice.

It was silence for some seconds, the two of them just stared at the frozen lake.

"Liked your robes tonight," Draco stated, continuing to stare at the lake.

"Funny, very funny Malfoy."

"There was just something missing about your whole appearance. Some nice piece of jewelry, a necklace with a pendant maybe?!" Draco said unflinching at Violet's words.

"I don't own jewelry?" Violet lied quickly, trying to swallow the big lump forming in her throat.

"Oh don't lie little Violet. I know you got my present."

"That cheesy thing was from you then, wasn't it?" Violet asked mockingly.

And then Draco turned to her, something breakable in his grey eyes, which were usually so strong. "You didn't like it?" He asked insecurely.

Tears welled up in Violet's eyes. She felt the sudden urge to scream at the top of her lungs how much she loved his present, how happy she was that he had thought about her. "It's kind of pretty. I've never had something like it before," she said instead in a small voice.

"So you do like it?" Draco asked reassuringly.

Violet nodded softly.

"When I saw it I immediately thought of you," Draco said softly, coming closer to Violet. Her lips started quivering at his words. She wasn't sure that he was telling the truth, but those words where so comforting, like warm milk with honey after a scary nightmare. Without thinking Violet closed the few inches between them, now there bodies were just separated by the thick coats they were wearing.

"It's cold, isn't it?" Draco asked breath heavy. Violet nodded at his question.

"Come on, I know a better place," Draco said, grabbing Violet's hand and tagging her inside the castle.

* * *

**I want to thank everybody reviewing,favorizing,reading and loving this story!**

**I hope you liked this chapter, please let me know and leave me a review :)**

**I try to update as often as possible, but college life is taking up alot of time. Hint: Reviews help me to update more frequently ;)  
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